


the great war of the nein sided tower cats

by egg (strwpup)



Series: The Tower [2]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Caleb Typical Angst, Discussion of Death, Gen, M/M, frumpkin is both a familiar and an actual character, local drow doesn't understand cats, post aeor fight, slow burn shadowgast, the nein have a lot going on, violence to fake animals who will be fine the next day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:21:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29778156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strwpup/pseuds/egg
Summary: Essek loves the tower.Of course, he loves the tower. How could he not? He loves waking up not dead after a fight that killed him. He loves being warm in the freezing north, surrounded by those he called friends. He loves magic. He loves-He loves what Caleb does with magic, putting such a personal touch on everything. He was floored by the beautiful stained glass windows, representing every school of magic, including his own. The incredible library full of books that man had read over his years and committed to memory. He cannot begin to express what he feels about the room custom made for him.The cats, though.He is not sure how he feels about the cats.or, essek was lucky enough to get through the fight at aeor after being revived. the battle to win back the nein's trust will be harder.
Relationships: Caduceus Clay & Essek Thelyss, Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast, Frumpkin & Caleb Widogast, Nott | Veth Brenatto & Essek Thelyss
Series: The Tower [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2186946
Comments: 16
Kudos: 131





	1. eins

Essek loves the tower.

Of course, he loves the tower. How could he not? He loves waking up not dead after a fight that killed him. He loves being warm in the freezing north, surrounded by those he called friends. He loves magic. He loves-

He loves what Caleb does with magic, putting such a personal touch on everything. He was floored by the beautiful stained glass windows, representing every school of magic, including his own. The incredible library full of books that man had read over his years and committed to memory. He cannot begin to express what he feels about the room custom made for him.

The cats, though. 

He is not sure how he feels about the cats. 

It’s hard walking around after being raised from the dead, but he will not disrespect the Nein now by floating in their home. His legs are still partially numb, which is why he doesn’t notice it at first. But the cats have been nudging him.

Not hard, and definitely not hard enough to knock him over, but it’s the principle of the thing. It reminds him of people shoulder checking him in the Lucid Bastion halls because they have better places to go. More important people to talk to. It brings out the worst part of him, that vicious, corrosive part of him that just wants them to fear him. That just wants to prove all of them wrong. 

But these are cats. And it is silly to apply political agendas to them. Essek has never met a real cat; maybe this is how they are supposed to act, instead of being a living scarf. Perhaps they are supposed to shove their heads directly into your ankles and push you. He tells himself they do not have ulterior motives. Probably.

So he shoves down that angry part of himself that stings when the cats do it again, and he tries to focus on how grateful he is to be there with them.

He arrives late for dinner because walking there was challenging for several reasons. Beau tenses up when she sees him in the doorway. All of them stop talking, except for Fjord, who continues until Beau nudges him so hard it’s basically a punch. With all the eyes on him, he suddenly feels very seen in a way that makes him very uncomfortable. That reminds him vaguely of Lucien’s magic and the eyes of nine, bearing down on him and seeing him for all he’s worth, which admittedly isn’t much.

Jester jumps up and tackles Essek in a hug. Unlike the cat nudges, Jester certainly would have knocked him down if she wasn’t also holding him in the air. Her voice is so much quieter than usual, and he doesn’t know if it’s because she’s trying not to cry or because death had somehow ruined his hearing.

“Essek, I’m so so so sorry.”

He pulls back from the hug in confusion. “Why are you apologizing to me?”

Jester sniffles loud, wiping her nose on her sleeve. “I was so stupid about the whole thing, and if I wasn’t, you wouldn’t have-”

Essek doesn’t know how to communicate with her like this, and he definitely won’t know what to do if she starts fully crying. He pats her back as soothingly as he can and cuts her off. “Jester, it’s fine. I don’t think you did anything wrong, and if you did, I would forgive you. It’s okay.”

Jester chokes on her words a few times, then settles on hugging him so tightly he’s worried about re-cracking a rib.

Over Jester’s shoulder, the rest of the Nein watches him silently.

At least Caduceus looks happy to see him. Veth and Fjord watch him with a guarded face, the way they always do. Yasha is looking at his still wounded torso. Beau’s expression is not one she has used with him before. It still has open concern, but it’s tainted by something else that he can’t quite read. Caleb is-

Essek pulls back, now on high alert. “Where’s Caleb?”

The silence gets awkward as they all look at each other. Eventually, Yasha holds up Frumpkin like a baby, which doesn’t answer any questions.

“He’s here,” says Caduceus. “Just not here.”

Essek nods, not really understanding. He knew Caduceus would tell him if he needed to know and decided to leave it at that.

“Oh my gosh!” Jester shouted. “You are probably so tired; let’s sit you down.”

Essek let Jester grab his arm and drag him towards the group. She sat him down between herself and Caduceus. Caduceus placed a teacup in front of him, and he drank.

When it seemed no one was going to talk, Essek decided to break the silence. “So, um. Did we win?”

Jester began speaking again, quickly and much more animated. “Oh for SURE! We totally saved the universe, and the Somnovum is done for for a while, and all of us made it out alive! And now all of us get to stay in the tower forever because we might be getting chased, but it’s going to be awesome, and we are going to have just so much fun together-”

“Hold on, hold on,” Essek said, waving at her to slow down. “Did you say we’re being chased?”

Jester scrunched up her nose. “I thought if I said it fast enough, you wouldn’t notice. And technically,  _ technically _ , I only said we  _ might _ be being chased. We haven’t checked in a while.”

Essek put his face in his hands. “Who are we being chased by?”

“Do you want the full list?” Beau asked.

“Multiple entities are chasing us?”

“Of course! Essek, people are always chasing us, we are just so popular-”

Fjord cut her off. “Maybe we shouldn’t throw him into a panic attack when he’s still dealing with… the rest of that?”

Essek looked up at Fjord, steepling his fingers under his chin. “I appreciate the consideration, but I would really like to know what I should be looking out for. I can handle it.”

Fjord squinted at Essek. He sighed. “Fine then. Do you want to do the honors, Jes?”

Jester beamed at him. “Oh yeah, I can do that.” She turned, so she was facing Essek head-on. “Okay, sooo should we go person by person? Level of immediate danger? Chronological order?”

“Person by person, for sure.” Veth contributed as she nodded.

Jester pointed at herself first. “Okay, so there’s this lord guy in Nicodranis that wants me arrested, but he sucks, and we don’t need to worry about him. Also, I think that dragon turtle is still after us maybe if we go near there? Oh, and the hag that I duped for Veth if she realizes I modified her memory.” 

“Is the Moonweaver still against us?” Caduceus asked, scratching his cheek.

“I am pretty sure that was a one-time thing, she seems cool. I’ve also desecrated a few temples, but I’ve never been caught, so it’s probably okay?”

Beau sat up. “Wait, hold on, are we going to have to pay for property charges for the Chantry of the Dawn?”

They looked at each other for a few moments before Jester just shrugged. She then pointed to Veth. “I mean, I’m sure some rich people are looking for Veth because, y’know, she likes to steal stuff, but I can’t think of anyone that matters chasing her?”

Veth nodded. “I have never done anything wrong in my life.” 

Beau frowned at her. “What about that woman you sovereign glued a dick to at Travelercon? Not that I think that was a bad move, but do you think she is like, planning our demise?”

Veth only shrugged, and Jester moved on to Fjord. 

“Okay, so Fjord has a lot going on for SURE. So his ex-god and all these fish people are chasing him and this ball we have, and we definitely cannot let them have it, or it’s like the end of the world. Again. And they attack us when we’re on open water usually. His pirate ex-girlfriend was also after us for a while? We killed her twice but with our track record, man, who knows if she’s still out there. Technically we are outlawed on Darktow, but we’re probably not going to go back anyway, so don’t worry about that. Also, Allura told us Fjord’s sword is a big deal or something, and if anyone finds out, they will try to get it from him.”

Fjord shrugged in apology. Jester pointed to Beau.

“Well, we used to think we needed to be careful around Beau’s monk people, but it turns out they’re actually  _ pretty _ cool! They might even help us! Unfortunately, Beau has a lot of dicks in her life we should avoid, but none of them are actively worried about where she is. She did commit mail fraud once, but I don’t think that’ll come back to her.”

“Are you going to talk about the dragon? I want to claim the dragon.”

Jester’s ears perked up. “Oh YEAH! There’s an ancient white dragon we fought twice that has our scent or something. We almost beat her last time.”

Essek spit out some of his tea. “You… forgot you have an ancient white dragon enemy? That you have fought twice?”

“Yup!” Jester moved her aim to Yasha. “I think we took care of Yasha’s people? But she doesn’t remember a lot. And we should also avoid her home, probably.” Jester tilted her head. “Do you think the Caedogeist hates us?” 

“Um… I don’t think she likes us? But I think it’s more she doesn’t care.”

“Great! Moving on!” She lowered her hands when she reached Cad. “Caddy, do you have people we should worry about?”

Cad pondered as he took a sip of his cup. “I have people to be worried about, but I don’t think anything is after me.” He started counting on his hands. “But some other creatures are after all of us, that roc in the barbed fields, those giants I got to let us past forever ago, Foreman Bodo, our housekeeper-”

Veth shot up. “Oh wait, we didn’t pay her, huh! How long has it been?”

They sat in a telling silence again.

“Sounds about right!” Jester rounded on a pale-faced Essek again. “If you have been found out in the time we’ve been away, the whole Dynasty probably doesn’t like us.”

Essek took a moment to calm himself. Before he could respond, Caduceus spoke up. “You forgot someone.”

Jester looked down in thought for several seconds before speaking again. “Oh man, oh man, I can’t believe I forgot Caleb. So if we aren’t in trouble with the Cerberus Assembly because of you, we definitely are because they definitely think we killed Vess DeRogna. And-”

Veth vaulted up on her chair, leaning over so she was almost in Essek’s face. “And more importantly than any of that, we are hiding in the tower because Caleb’s scourger ex-girlfriend is tracking us.”

Essek slumped back in his chair. “Is that all?”

Jester beamed at him. “Yup!”

Essek took a long inhale. “Alright then. Do you have any-”

“Hot chocolate?” Caduceus asked at the same time Beau said, “Booze?”

“Both would be great if that is on the table.”

Before Cad could do anything, Frumpkin darted out of Yasha’s lap and ran to a small door on the wall. Moments later, a group of cats came out of the door balancing cups on trays. Frumpkin pranced behind them with his head held high. Caduceus took a cup off the tray and nodded to the cats and Frumpkin.

Essek copied him as best as he could. He took a sip of the drink and almost spilled the whole thing when a cat bumped his hand. He put it down and looked at the cat.

The one directly in front of him had a cute little nose and mostly orange fur with little white mittens. It tried to bump him again, but he moved his hand out of the way. The cat looked annoyed and headbutted him directly in the chest. Essek sucked in a breath, trying to be cool about the cat’s erratic behavior. The cat swatted at him with a mittened paw, but Jester picked it up before it made contact.

“Mitzi! Give him some space! He, like, just came back from the dead.” She hugged the cat close to her chest so it couldn’t get away. It meowed in annoyance and swatted in his direction. 

Essek straightened his shoulders, putting off the slight against him. Another small cat put a glass of deep purple wine in front of him. He took a deep sip while meeting the second cat’s stare. When the cat finally looked away, he tuned back into the Nein’s conversation at large.

“So we’re staying here for a while?” Said Beau, arms crossed.

“Well, there isn’t really anywhere else we can go now,” replied Caduceus.

Essek cut into the conversation. “Wait, where are we?”

Jester put a hand on his shoulder, using the other to gesture wildly as she spoke. “Oh. My. Gosh. So we’re in Nicodranis, which is where my mama lives! You haven’t gotten to meet her yet because you were too busy being bad at lying, right? Oh man, you are going to love her!”

Essek rankled a bit at being called a lousy liar. Technically, he had lied for three years straight about his treason to spies, and no one had been the wiser. But… he knew Jester wasn’t malicious, so he let it slide.

“No, Jester, I do not believe I have had the opportunity to meet your mother.”

Jester opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Veth spoke up. “Yeza lives here too.” She stared at him pointedly. “So maybe you should stay in the tower.”

Jester frowned and started refuting Veth, but Essek raised a hand to stop her. “She’s probably right. I don’t want to cause more problems than I already have.”

There was a brief silence before Jester threw her hands in the air. “Fine, I  _ guess _ . You can spend most of the time in the tower. But you are going to need to meet mama at one point.”

Essek nodded, accepting the concession for what it was. When the conversation slowed down, and people began heading for their rooms, Essek spoke up again.

“Where is the rest of my clothes? I would... I would like my mantle, at least. If that is okay.”

Caduceus smiled at him and offered a hand to help him up. “I’ll show you.”

The Nein said goodnight to each other, and Cad led him to the fifth floor.

Caduceus nudged open the door with the scarab beetle on the outside and ushered Essek in. He gave himself a moment to be in awe of the unique room, full of personal tastes and a beautiful stained glass window. Caleb had really put all of his creativity and love in the rooms, and it showed in a way that made Essek’s chest burn if he thought about it too much.

He wanted to ask about Caleb. But he had a feeling he would get the same confusing answer.

Caduceus picked up a pile of neatly folded clothes near the fireplace and placed them in Essek’s arms.

“My apologies, I had forgotten to put these back after I mended them. At least they should be nice and warm by now.”

They were warm. Essek held them a little tighter, trying to get that heat in his still uncomfortably cold fingers. Not knowing what to say, Essek nodded and headed for the door.

“Is there anything you wanted to talk about, Essek?”

He paused. He turned around slowly to hopefully hide any expressions that may have appeared on his face. “It is not my place.”

Cad smiled softly. “Essek, you are one of us for the time being. We may not tell you everything, but you have a right to know what is going on. I won’t judge anything you ask me, and if I can, I will answer it.”

Essek thought for a moment. “Why was Jester apologizing to me?”

“I am not certain, but I believe she is upset she was not able to revive you.”

“Oh.” Essek processed that. “Thank you then.”

Cad’s ears flicked. “I… also was not able to. Luckily, Caleb was able to raise you from the dead.”

“Wait, what?” Essek fiddled with the comforting hem of his mantle. “I was not aware he had that ability.”

“We were not either. But thank the Wildmother that he did.”

Essek’s eyes met nothing but the fire in the hearth as he considered that. He had no idea how close he had been to real, permanent death. And once again, Caleb had pulled him from the brink after Essek had deliberately gone against him. Like he was worth saving after all he’d done.

“Is he okay?” Essek had asked without really meaning to speak at all.

“He is… having a bit of a rough time for now. A lot has happened recently to open old wounds, and he hasn’t had a break in a bit of time.” Cad sighed. “After you woke up, he closed himself off in the upper parts of the tower. I am worried about him isolating himself, but the Wildmother said to give him a few days’ space. We will see him for a minute when he remakes the tower, and I believe Frumpkin will get us if anything goes really wrong, and for now, I’m afraid that will have to be enough.”

Essek nodded, swallowing. “Thank you, Caduceus.”

“Of course, friend. Did you want some-”

There was the sound of yowling and scratching at the door. Cad moved to the door, opening it to a frantic-looking Frumpkin. “Do you need something?” Caduceus asked him.

Frumpkin scrambled along the hall before making the same noises at the door to the room Essek had woken up in. Essek stepped into the hallway, now alarmed by the familiar. He stuck a hand in his mantle near where he kept his components. “Is something wrong?”

Frumpkin’s head swiveled to him. In an instant, his blue eyes changed to a soft amber, and all the tension disappeared from his shoulders. He stared at Essek, licked his paw, then pranced off into the cat tunnels. 

Essek looked up to see Caduceus smiling at him.. “Should we be worried about that?” He asked.

“No, I think he’s okay for now. Are you about ready to go back to sleep?”

Essek wanted to say no. He had only been up for a handful of hours, but his joints and the tight muscles in his chest had been aching for a while. “I’m afraid so.”

Cad snorted. “Well then. I’ll go with you to make sure Frumpkin wasn’t trying to warn us of an unexpected visitor.”

“Is that something that can happen?”

Caduceus shrugged. “I’m not sure. But I’d feel more comfortable knowing someone was with you when you looked.”

As they walked along the edge of the inner circle, more cats seemed to come out of nowhere to push at Essek’s ankles with their heads. He noted the cats weren’t doing the same to Caduceus, and in fact, most looked to be avoiding his footfalls. He frowned but decided to deal with that when he woke.

***

Caleb pulled his senses out of Frumpkin as soon as he heard Essek’s voice. He tried to go through a breathing exercise, counting every second as he always did.

Essek was fine. Of course, he was. He wasn’t reduced to ash and screams from his flames. He wasn’t at Ikithon’s whims. He wasn’t pinned through the chest with a sword, a sight Caleb had seen far too many times already on those he cared for. Not anymore, at least.

It was good that Essek wasn’t in his room. He needed to be moving and around people. He deserved that much, at least. His absence wasn’t a reason to panic.

Caleb looked around, grounding himself. He was on the neinth floor of his tower. His friends were safe. He was in control.

Around him, stars seemed to expand forever in the shimmering blue space. Strands of dunamis tangled in the weave around him, tethering him to other versions of himself in discarded timelines. Some wore the colors of the Volstrucker, and some were near motionless and dazed. Several were tired-looking vagrants, hungry and alone. There were a few he had recognized since joining the Nein; one wearing the same outfit and grief he did the day Molly died, traveling alone, one broken after being turned on his friends in a swarm of demons, one in garb he had seen on Yeza while staying in the Dungeon of Penance. One was covered in nine glowing eyes that seemed to stare at him from wherever he was in the room. 

He didn’t yearn for those people, and most of them were easy to ignore. But his eyes always lingered on a few. One with farmer's arms and a constant weary smile. One with braided hair and a custom jacket sewn with symbols of all the people he cared about.

One in Xhorhassian clothes casting a spell that absorbed all light around it. With an open spellbook and talking to someone at his side. He had never understood that one. Or maybe he tried not to understand it.

Just then, Frumpkin arrived through the side door, promptly stopping his pondering. He opened his arms wide, and Frumpkin took his place, nudging his head under Caleb’s chin. He sat back and scritched his familiar behind his ears.

Tired and worn, Caleb stared into the endless sea and considered possibility until his body rendered him unconscious.


	2. dau

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> veth helps essek out, caduceus entertains a visitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw: violence to fake animals who will be fine the next day

Essek rose the next morning just as full of aches and pains. He unfolded his mantle, using prestidigitation to remove the creases in the fabric. He pulled it over his shoulders and secured it around his neck. After allowing himself a few moments to compose himself, he left his room to explore the tower more thoroughly.

Every floor was so meticulously put together, crafted to surprise him everywhere he looked. He didn’t want to disturb the rest of the Nein if they were sleeping, and he wasn’t particularly hungry, so he wandered down to the library.

It was- it was impossible to describe just how  _ much _ Essek admired every detail of the library. He had assumed at first most of the books would be empty placeholders, especially on the higher shelves, but every tome Essek was able to reach seemed to be full of stories or spells. 

The massive stained glass window wouldn’t stop bothering him. He knew he had seen that design somewhere but could not remember where. He made a note to ask someone later.

After several hours of flipping through books and trying to discern the filing system, Essek realized he had not heard the movement of anyone besides the cats since he had awoken. Finding no one in the dining room, Essek floated down to the entry hall.

He was once again momentarily distracted from his mission by the incredible stained glass windows that surrounded him on all sides. All of them were beautiful in their way, each with their own styles and shades. 

Before he could get lost in admiring their design, a meow came from around his feet. A kitten was walking in figure eights around his feet and making a strange vibrating noise. He tried to step around it, but it just kept nudging at his ankles. He leaned down and reached for the creature to move it aside, but it snapped its teeth at his hand.

Essek jumped back in surprise, and the kitten followed. It stretched out its arm, sticking its claws into his trousers and making a move to climb him.

He manipulated gravity a bit to pull the cat away from him. “No.” He said, with as much command in his voice he could muster.

He moved to the exit to the tower before being tugged back. The kitten had seemingly launched itself halfway up his mantle and was holding tight. “Please stop attacking me,” he told it. One of his hands moved to shoo it, but as soon as it got close enough, the cat swung a clawed paw at it. He scrunched his nose, preparing to take more robust measures, when an arrow appeared in the cat, and it disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

He followed the trajectory to see Veth standing at the tower’s entrance. More cats appeared around his feet, all yowling now. 

“Oh no!” Veth yelled in a weird tone of voice. “Essek, they’re trying to hold you down; get out of here!” She shot a few more cats dead on and motioned up the center chamber. 

Essek began levitating, and several more cats from seemingly nowhere swatted at the ends of his cloak and prepared to leap at him. 

“Get to your room!” she yelled. “I can only hold them off for so long!”

Essek obeyed, getting inside and closing the door. Moments later, Veth ran in and slammed the door. She was covered in scratches and out of breath.

“That was a close one!” she said.

“What… was that?” He asked.

Veth put her crossbow down on one of the side tables. “When Jes told me the cats told her they hated you, I thought she was over exaggerating!”

Essek frowned. There was a strange cadence in her voice he didn’t trust, but he couldn’t deny the cats had some problem with him at this point.

“Why don’t they like me?” he questioned, a little more emotional than he meant it to be.

Veth’s face dropped momentarily. “Oh, um… maybe it’s… not just you that they don’t like?”

Essek started pacing. “No, I think it must have something to do with me. They are always trying to push me over and claw and bite me. They don’t do that to Caduceus. They don’t do that to you, and you were actively shooting them!” He felt his ears twitch. “Why don’t Caleb’s cats like me?”

Veth walked over to him. “Maybe… maybe you just need to show them who’s boss. I have only eaten Frumpkin once, and he hasn’t messed with me since.”

“You ate Frumpkin?”

Veth waved him off. “Once or twice. It wasn’t worth it. What I’m saying is, you’re the new kid, right? If you don’t show them who’s boss, they’ll keep pushing you around.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but… what do you think I should do to show them who’s boss?”

“Well, you could always eat Frumpkin.”

Essek shook his head. “I will not be doing that.”

“Why not? I bet even you could. Sprinkle ate him once.”

“I am not sure I am comparable with Jester’s weasel. I’m almost certain it is undead.” He rubbed his hands together. “And to be honest… I don’t want Frumpkin to be upset with me.”

Veth tilted her head. “Why? Who cares what he thinks about you?”

“Caleb.” After a few seconds of silence, Essek realized he might have responded to that question far too quickly. “Or, that is to say, that-”

“I understand, Essek.” Veth plopped down on his couch, patting the cushion next to her. “Sit down, your pacing is bringing down the mood.”

He drifted over and sat next to her. He stared into the fireplace. Veth casually picked up a book from the side table, flipping through it before speaking again several minutes later.

“If the cats really don’t like you, that’s on them. We love you. You are one of us. And if they pick a fight with you, they’re picking a fight with me too.”

Essek turned to her, shock apparent on his face. Her words had stirred up a strange and powerful emotion. Before he knew it, Essek was tearing up.

Veth looked at him in alarm. “Oh no, don’t-”

He couldn’t stop the tears from flowing, no matter how hard he tried. It was a gross-sounding cry with stuttered breaths and hiccups. Definitely not something dignified of his station.

Veth rubbed circles into his back as he bawled. It reminded him of how he had yearned for someone to comfort him as a child, and the motion just made him cry harder. 

When the bulk of it was over, he rubbed his eyes. “I am so sorry you had to see that Veth, I-”

She hushed him, still patting his back. ”Don’t apologize. You’ve been through a lot recently, kid.” With a final hard pat, she stood up. “I won’t tell anyone if you don’t tell anyone I was nice about it.” She picked up her crossbow and prepared to leave. “I meant what I said, though. If the dumb cats are harassing you, I will help you harass them back. Stop by my room in the morning, and we’ll come up with a game plan. I’ll get Jester on board, and we will go to war for your honor.”

Essek chuckled. “Thank you, Veth. Again.”

“You wizards and your endless apologies,” she muttered, closing the door behind her.

***

Caduceus opened the door to see Frumpkin politely waiting. “Come on in,” he motioned.

Instead of Frumpkin’s usual prance, he slunk over to where Cad had been setting up his meditation. He looked up at him with blue eyes. Caleb-in-Frumpkin then.

Caduceus closed the door and sat down cross-legged next to his friend. Frumpkin jumped into his lap, stretching all the way out. Cad gave him some pats before continuing his work.

“Do you want me to talk to you, Caleb?” He said, reaching for some incense.

Frumpkin thought a moment, then shook his head.

“Very well then.” Cad gave Frumpkin a scritch behind the ears, earning himself a small  _ mrrp _ . “I will talk to myself, and you can listen.”

Seemingly satisfied with that, Frumpkin settled down into a ball.

“I was thinking of asking the Wildmother some questions, but I’m not sure what to ask. I already confirmed that the Somnovum and Lucien are gone. I already got confirmation that Essek has good intentions. I think what we are doing is probably the best solution to our current problem with what we have.”

Cad sketched a sigil into the floor under him. “Maybe I should ask about my family. Maybe I can ask if we have a long enough time to really rest before our next encounter. I know Jester wanted you to stop by her mother again.” Frumpkin made a noncommittal noise.

“I think I will confirm we are safe here.” He scratched the side of Frumpkin’s neck. “I can ask if you can still be controllable through the eyes if you want. See if she knows a way to get rid of them.” Frumpkin nodded before catching one of Cad’s fingers between his paws.

Cad chuckled, playing with the cat for a few minutes before really started his commune, the incense helping Frumpkin nod off to sleep. He could only hope that meant Caleb was asleep as well.

He let his thoughts drift and reached his soul out to Melora, praying for healing.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! i hope you will enjoy where this goes :)  
> i plan on updating weekly, but who knows  
> please feel free to comment, bookmark, and leave a kudo!  
> thank you again, and have a great day!


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